You Found Me
by EmilyandPixie
Summary: What happens when Katniss decides to start taking care of Haymitch? How do Gale and Peeta take it? Set after Mocking Jay. I suck at summaries
1. Chapter 1

**YOU FOUND ME**

**CHAPTER 1**

KATNISS'S POV

It was almost dark when I walked into Haymitch's house. I searched his filthy house until I finally found him in his room upstairs. It was surprisingly clean compared to the rest of the house, and by the looks of it he didn't normally even sleep in there.

"Haymitch, get up." I said, shaking him gently. He groaned and opened his eyes.

"What?" he asked. I could tell by his tone he was angry that I had woken him.

"I brought some food. Peeta made the remark that he didn't see very much food last time he was here and the people in the Hob say they haven't seen you in weeks." I replied.

"Why, sweetheart? I can take care of myself." he snapped.

"I highly doubt that. Have you seen the condition your house is in lately? And if you took care of yourself, you'd have food and something good to drink instead of just liquor." I snapped back.

"Why would you care?" he asked.

"I just don't want to see the mentor that got me out of two Hunger Games and a war die." I replied. His eyes slightly softened, but not very much. He got up and followed me down to the kitchen. I could tell by the way he looked that he hadn't ate anything in at least a week.

"Were you trying to starve yourself to death, Haymitch?" I asked.

"Not intentionally, but now that I think about it I wish I had. Death after all these years would be a blessing." Haymitch replied. I felt so bad for him. Of course I knew his story. He had went into the fiftieth Hunger Games when he was sixteen, when he won his mother and brother and girlfriend were all killed by President Snow as payback for using the arena wall to his advantage. He had been lonely ever since and was now forty two years old. He had been successful in pulling both Peeta Mellark and I through two Hunger Games as well as a full fledged war. We had been back in District twelve for a year now. I had gone through depression and Haymitch helped me to overcome it. Peeta and I didn't work out as a couple so now we mainly talked just if we happened to see each other out or if we needed to talk about something. We took turns checking in on Haymitch weekly and reported to each other whenever he got worse in condition.

I had brought a couple of rabbits I had killed in the woods, some bread Peeta had baked, some milk, cheese, and even some soup from Greasy Sae.

"Gosh, Sweetheart, I don't need to eat so much." Haymitch said.

"You're not eating it all at once. This should last you tonight and tomorrow. I'll be back tomorrow night with some more. I didn't know how bad off your food supply was or I would have brought more." I replied. I skinned one of the rabbits and cooked it before putting a glass of milk and the rabbit and some bread in front of him.

"Eat. Now." I demanded. He cocked an eyebrow.

"And if I don't?" he asked.

"If you don't, I'll call Effie in for reinforcement." I snapped. He quickly ate everything in front of him.

"Can I please go back to bed sweetheart?" he asked.

"Fine." I replied. "But you better hold that food down and you better have the other rabbit, the soup, and at least half the remaining bread ate by the time I come back tomorrow evening." I went home and made a mental list of everything to take him the next day.

The next day, I visited the bakery. Peeta was sitting at a table talking to Delly Cartwright. I didn't want to interrupt them, but I'd rather see Haymitch eat and become more healthy than watch him not improve just so they could talk.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I need to get a few things." I said, walking up to them.

"It's fine, Katniss. I assume you came back for more food for Haymitch?" Peeta asked. I nodded. He got a big basket and filled it with different kinds of breads.

"Tell the old fool he could come get some food once in a while. He doesn't need to starve himself to death." Peeta said as I was leaving.

"I highly doubt he'll actually listen. I had to threaten to bring Effie in as a reinforcement before he would eat last night." I replied. I left and went to the Hob. I bought some more milk, cheese, and some eggs. I stashed that in my house before slipping my hunting coat on and snuck into the woods. This time when I came back I had one squirrel and some berries.

I went to my house and gathered what I had gotten earlier that day and went to Haymitch's house. He was sitting in the living room but followed me into the kitchen. I was satisfied to see a few new dishes added to the pile in the sink and most of the food from the previous night was gone. I put everything except for the squirrel, the berries, some cheese bread, and milk up. I made supper for him and while he was eating, I washed the dirty dishes and put them up.

"Haymitch, have you ever thought about getting a housekeeper?" I asked.

"Not really." he muttered before digging back into the food. I sighed. I didn't like even thinking about the conditions Haymitch was living in. I could tell by the way he ate that he hadnt had any decent food in a very long time. True, he obviously ate once in a while, but nothing like what I made. Nothing nutritious by any means.

I went to his room and started cleaning there so at least he'd have somewhere clean to sleep. When I was done there, I went to the kitchen and cleaned there, and went from there to the living room. Those were the only dirty rooms in the house, indicating those were the only rooms he really ever spent more than a couple of minutes at a time in.

"Sweetheart, you didn't have to do any of that. I was perfectly fine living in a mess and with very little food." he said when I finished.

"I know I didn't have to. But I wanted to." I replied. I sat on his couch and watched a tv show with him.

I opened my eyes and saw it was three in the morning. I realized I had fallen asleep watching the tv, but I didn't recognize the room I was in. I was in a strange bed. Within seconds I realized Haymitch had carried me to his room and tucked me under the covers. I heard a scream from downstairs and went to investigate.

I found Haymitch screaming in his sleep. I guess he had nightmares just like I did sometimes. I woke him up and told him he was screaming. He looked like he was seriously shaken up from his dream.

"Haymitch, go sleep in your bed. I'm going home." I said gently. He staggered, obviously drunk out of his mind.

"Mind helping me sweetheart?" he asked. I helped him up the stairs and to his bed. I went to leave but he grabbed my wrist. "Stay. Please?" he looked at me with pleading eyes so I sighed and crawled into the bed as well. We fell asleep with our backs turned to each other.

When I woke up later that morning, I was surprised to find my face buried in Haymitch's chest and both of his arms around me. I knew I was probably going to be in for it if he didn't remember how we had gotten in this position. I laid there until he woke up.

"Do you remember anything from last night?" I asked.

"Sweetheart, I never have hangovers. Of course I remember. I remember you came, cooked, cleaned the house, fell asleep on the couch. I carried you up here and went and slept on the couch. You came and woke me up, saying I was screaming in my sleep. Then I couldn't hardly walk so you helped me up here, I asked you to stay, and that's how we ended up like this." Haymitch replied.

I got up and quickly made breakfast. Afterwards, all Haymitch had left was bread.

I left and went to town. When I came back, I had enough food to last Haymitch for two weeks except for meat. That would always have to be hunted daily.

"Sweetheart, why are you doing this?" Haymitch asked.

"Because you apparently need someone else to take care of you since you won't take care of yourself." I replied. I put everything up and made sure the rest of the house was still in order before leaving. I spent the rest of the day cleaning my house. Once that was done I ate and sat around until dark.

I went and made supper for Haymitch. I washed the dishes before once again going home.

I woke up and heard screaming coming from Haymitch's house. I groaned and went over. For once he seemed happy that I woke him up.

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart." He said when I explained he had woken me.

"It's not your fault you get nightmares." I said gently. He smiled. I glanced at the clock. It was one in the morning. I didn't ask or wait to be asked; I got into the bed but made sure to leave plenty of room between us. He didn't say anything so I assumed it was alright.

The next morning I woke up and couldn't find Haymitch anywhere. I went to my house and made breakfast. I ate and washed dishes before taking a shower. After I was done with everything, I went back over to Haymitch's.

He was making some sort of sandwich and had his back turned towards me. He didn't even look when I walked in.

"Where were you this morning?" I asked.

"Out." He replied, still not looking at me. I could tell something was wrong so I went around him so I could see his face. I was shocked to see a deep gash running from the middle of his forehead across to his ear and down to his jaw.

"Haymitch, what happened?" I asked.

"Got in a fight at the Hob, Sweetheart." He replied. I noticed his collarbone was also deeply cut. I drug him to his bathroom and cleaned the wounds. I put bandages on the cuts and decided that was all I could do at that time.

"I'll be back later. Take care of yourself until then." I said before leaving. I went to the Hob. I got a needle, some thread, and a freshly killed chicken.

"I assume that's for Haymitch?" Greasy Sae asked.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Girl, it aint a secret you've been taking care of him the past few days. Everyone expected you to come rushing in after Gale tore into him this morning." Sae replied.

"Why did Gale do that to him?" I asked.

"Because Gale is crazy over you and thought that since you were taking care of Haymitch, something was going on between yall." she replied.

"Well there's nothing between Haymitch and I." I said.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Katniss's POV

I stood there waiting for Greasy Sae to say anything else but she didn't. I went back to Haymitch's.

"Haymitch!" I hollered. He came down the stairs. "This is going to hurt but I need to stitch your gashes up so infection doesn't set in." I said. He sat down and let me stitch the cuts shut.

After I was done, I did his laundry and roasted the chicken. After we both ate, I made sure his house was spotless. Afterwards, I sat in the living room and watched tv with him.

That night, I went to my house and fell asleep quickly. He woke me up screaming again so I Grabbed my shoes and went to his house. I didn't even bother to wake him up, just curled up next to him since he always seemed to stop screaming just from feeling someone close to him.

He put his arms around me in his sleep and pulled me up against him.

The next morning I woke up and realized he was on his back and I was laying on top of him with his arms around me tightly. I didn't move. I admit, I was scared of what he'd say when he woke and found us in that position.

HAYMITCH'S POV

I woke up and found that I was laying on my back and Katniss was laying on top of me and my arms were around her tightly. I noticed she was peering at me and acting like she was scared.

"Good morning, Sweetheart." I said softly, knowing she was scared of what I would say about our position. I released her from my arms and she rolled off of me. I got up and went to the Hob.

"I see Katniss stitched you up good." Greasy Sae said.

"How'd you know she did it?" I asked.

"The girl came and got all the needed supplies and its no secret that she's been taking care of you the past few days." The old woman replied.

"Oh."

"Yeah. Is there something between yall?" she asked.

"No." I replied.

"you like her. That much is obvious." Sae said.

"She doesn't like me though." I pointed out.

"You shouldn't be so sure about that." she said before walking off. I stood there processing what she said. She had basically said that Katniss liked me. Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire. No way would she ever like someone like me, someone over twice her age and known as the town drunk.

I walked around, looking at everything for sell. I got another bottle of liquor although I knew perfectly well that there was no way Katniss would allow me to have it if she discovered I had bought it. Everyone was whispering while they watched me walk past them. I knew they were saying things about me and Katniss.

I went to the bakery to see if Peeta had heard anything, although I knew he would have by that point. To my surprise, he pulled me into the back room as soon as he saw me walk in.

"What is going on between you and Katniss?" he asked.

"Nothing, Peeta. She's been cleaning my house and cooking for me, that's all. Oh, and she stitched me up after Gale attacked me." I replied.

"And you two aren't together or anything?" Peeta asked.

"No, bread boy. What have you heard?"

"I heard yall were sleeping around together and had a thing going." he replied.

"That is DEFINITELY NOT THE CASE." I snapped. I hated that everyone thought Katniss and I had a relationship when we definitely didn't. There was no way Katniss would ever look at me twice as far as that went.

"Don't bite my head off. You asked what I heard and I told you." Peeta said.

"Whatever Peeta. I'm going." I left, making sure I had my liquor with me.

When I got back to my house, Katniss was in the middle of making breakfast. She looked up when I walked into the kitchen.

"Where were you?" she asked.

"The Hob." I replied. I had been smart enough to make sure she hadn't seen that I had the liquor. I waited until her back was turned again and then put it in a cabinet. I silently prayed she wouldn't discover it until I had already drank it.

"Why were you at the Hob?" Katniss asked suddenly.

"I was just asking someone something. I ran into Greasy Sae and Bread Boy while I was in town." I replied.

"What did they say?" She asked. I swear, that girl was to curious for her own good.

"Both seem to think we've secretly got something going on between us and according to Sae, everyone in District twelve knows that you've been taking care of me and everyone thinks we're secretly together." I replied. She scrunched her face up. "Look Sweetheart, they've got every right to think that. I mean, you used to rarely come over and now you practically live here and you take care of me. Of course they're gonna think something is between us."

"I don't see why they have to assume things. I mean, why couldn't they just realize I'm only taking care of you because you won't take care of yourself?"

"I don't know, Katniss. I really don't. I did my best to put a stop to all the rumors but I don't know how effective it was." I replied. I noticed the change in her expression when I called her by her name. "Something wrong?"

"I got used to you calling me Sweetheart, not my name." she replied. I thought back and realized I had only called her by her actual name to her face five times. Four of which we were screaming at each other. And obviously the fifth time had just happened.

"Sorry, Sweetheart." I said. She smiled slightly before finishing making breakfast.

When we finished eating, she did the dishes and tidied up the house some before going back to her house. I decided to start drinking some. I knew she would probably give me hell over it whenever she came back over if I wasn't sober and the mess wasn't gone, but at that moment I really didn't care.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Katniss's pov

I went back over to Haymitch's house, this time taking enough clothing to be able to spend the night and have something to change into the next morning that way I wouldn't have to get up and come over in the middle of the night.

I walked into his house and the smell of alcohol immediately alerted me of what he was doing in the Hob that morning. I found him in his kitchen.

"Hey sweetheart." he said, his words slurring together slightly. I was relieved that he wasn't completely drunk. At least he would remember anything and everything that happened as long as he didn't get any worse.

I took the bottle from him. He growled and I could see the anger in his eyes. I knew I probably should have just let him have it, but I didn't like even the thought of him drinking so I wasn't exactly going to just sit there and watch him.

"Either you drink it or you give it back." He demanded.

"Neither of which are going to happen so just keep dreaming, Haymitch. You're not getting this back and I'm not getting drunk." I snapped.

"You're no fun, Sweetheart. Maybe I should go find a little maid that wont take my liquor and then refuse to drink it." He said.

"Haymitch, there's no way you're going to ever find a free maid that would put up with your ass." I replied.

Needless to say, I did end up drinking some. It didn't take much to get me very drunk. The last thing I remembered was tilting the bottle up and drinking it quickly, feeling the alcohol burn my throat. The next thing I remembered was waking up in bed next to Haymitch.

"Haymitch." I said, shaking him. My head felt like it was about to explode. It made me wonder how he dealed with drinking and hangovers until I realized he was definitely bound to be used to this kind of thing by now.

"Yes, sweetheart?" he asked groggily.

"What happened last night?" I asked.

"It may be better for you to try to remember by yourself first, Sweetheart." Haymitch replied.

HAYMITCH'S POV

I sat there and watched as Katniss downed the rest of the liquor. It had been surprisingly easier than what I had expected to talk her into drinking it. She got very drunk. She sat the empty bottle on the table and stumbled over to me.

"Easy, Swee-" I was cut off by her pressing her lips against mine. She put her arms around my neck and pulled me up against her. One of my hands tangled in her hair and the other rested on her lower back, holding her against me.

I knew she was only doing it because she was drunk, but I was beyond the point of caring. I loved the feeling of her kiss. I shoved her against the wall and soon we were in a very heated makeout session. She pulled me up to the bedroom and as soon as we got to the bed she pulled me on top of her. We were once again in a very heated makeout session.

"Katniss, I'm not going to let it go any further." I panted half an hour later. She pouted but curled up and went to sleep quickly.

The next morning I was awakened by Katniss shaking me.

"Yes, sweetheart?" I asked groggily.

"What happened last ngiht?" she asked.

"It may be better for you to remember by yourself first, sweetheart." I replied. I could tell she was thinking and about three minutes later, she finally said something.

"I still can't remember anything and my head hurts even worse when I try to remember." She whined. I told her everything concerning the previous night, making sure not to leave out a single detail. Except for the fact I had loved every second of it. I kept that part to myself.

When I was done telling her, she looked more embarrassed than I had ever seen her before. She disappeared down the steps and by the time I got down them as well, she was gone. I knew it would take a couple of days before she'd come back.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

KATNISS'S POV

It had been a couple of weeks since I had left Haymitch's house that morning. I decided I needed to get over being so embarrassed and go back and make sure he was alright. I mean, the man hadn't taken care of himself before I had started taking care of him and I wasn't completely sure that he would take care of himself after I left.

I prepared myself for a lot of cleaning and a drunk Haymitch and went over to his house. He was sitting at his table drinking and by the looks of him, he hadn't had a proper meal since I had left. The house wasn't exactly clean either.

"Haymitch, why the heck didn't you keep eating and keep your house clean after I left?" I asked.

"Because I really don't care what happens to me, Sweetheart." he replied. I had known that all along, but hearing him actually admit it made it all that much more upsetting. I went through his cabinets and saw he had barely made a dent on the food I had brought him. I made him a good meal and cleaned the house while he ate. Then I did the dishes and watched tv with him again.

This time when he went to bed, I sat in his living room. I was waiting for the screaming to start. I had felt guilty the past two weeks for ignoring it, and I wasn't about to ignore it then.

He started screaming and shouting about an hour after going to bed. I went up the stairs and quietly went into his room.

"Haymitch." I said softly, shaking him awake. He opened his eyes and looked at me. I knew he wouldn't be mad at me for waking him up; he had gotten over that long ago. He didn't say anything so I just laid next to him. I knew it was probably going to become a nightly routine. We were both plagued by nightmares, but his were definitely way worse than mine ever were.

HAYMITCH'S POV

When I woke up, I found that I had Katniss in my arms. It wasn't unusual before for us to wake up like this, but I was worried since she had just went away for so long that she'd be more touchy about this. She sighed in her sleep and got even closer to me so I wrapped my arms around her tighter. I closed my eyes and just laid there, waiting for her to wake up.

I thought back to when Greasy Sae had said I had feelings for Katniss. It was then that I realized she was right. But I doubted Katniss had feelings for me.

I shut my eyes and just laid there, holding Katniss tightly in my arms. I knew it wouldn't be long before she woke up.

Around five minutes later, she started shifting around. I realized she had woken up but I didn't want to reveal that I had been awake.

"Haymitch." Katniss said softly, gently shaking me. I opened my eyes.

"Morning, Sweetheart." I whispered. Although I didn't want to, I let go of her and forced myself to get ready for the day.

Katniss made breakfast and cleaned the mess before leaving. I knew she would be back before dark with food. I did laundry to pass the time.

By the time she came back, it was already after dark. I sat and watched her as she made supper.

"Katniss, has it ever occurred to you that maybe it would be easier to clean and take care of me if you lived here? You wouldn't have to keep coming in the middle of the night when you hear me screaming." I asked.

She seemed shocked and didn't say anything. When she finally did respond, all she did was nod. "Of course it would be easier." she muttered after a few minutes. I wondered if she as going to say anything else. We were both silent the rest of supper and she carefully avoided my gaze. I couldn't really blame her.

"Haymitch, if you were being serious then I'll move into one of the spare bedrooms here." she said while she washed the dishes. I tried to conceal how happy I was because of it.

KATNISS'S POV

"Haymitch, if you were being serious then I'll move into one of the spare bedrooms here." I said. What he had suggested did make sense, even if he had shocked me by suggesting it. It would be so much easier to take care of him if I lived there. Especially at night when he started screaming.

I often had thought about us living together but had always dismissed it as a stupid idea. However, if Haymitch agreed it would be easier to take care of him, I was willing to move in. I went back to my house and got my clothes, food, and anything that was important to me.

By the time I was completely moved in, it was midnight. I slept in the room next to Haymitch's room, knowing he'd probably still scream in his sleep. I was only asleep for maybe a minute before he started screaming.

I got up and went to his room. It took forever to wake him up, but even awake he was crying. I had no clue what to do; I had never imagined that the man would cry.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I dreamed about when my mom and brother got executed because of me." He replied. I got into the bed and tried saying every comforting thing I could think of.

Finally he calmed down. He was still wide awake though. I could tell he was thinking deeply about something.

"Katniss." he said. I looked at him and was beyond shocked when he kissed me.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

KATNISS'S POV still

I froze, and he pulled away when I didn't react. He mumbled an apology and turned so he was facing the opposite way.

I suddenly realized Sae was right. He DID like me. However, I didn't have those kinds of feelings for him. Yes, I took care of him and even moved in with him, but I had never had feelings for him.

I curled up against his back so I could stay warm. His house didn't stay very warm at night. I felt him tense up at the contact but after a moment he calmed down. I fell asleep quickly.

HAYMITCH'S POV

I could tell by the sounds of Katniss's breaths that she had fallen asleep. I got up. After her showing she didn't like me, I didn't feel right about laying in the same bed as her.

I quietly crept out of the house after dressing. I made sure I didn't make any noise at all, trying to avoid waking Katniss up.

I walked around until daylight. Once the sun came up, I went and had breakfast at the Hob. Then I visited Peeta and Delly until dark. Afterwards, I went home.

Katniss was making supper. She didn't even look up when I walked in, which instantly caused me to worry slightly.

"Where the hell were you? You woke me up when you left last night." she sounded pissed and worried at the same time.

"Calm down, Katniss." I said. "I walked around, ate breakfast at the Hob, and visited Bread Boy and his lovely companion Delly til now." I replied.

"You could have at least told me! I sat here and worried all day because of you!" Katniss snapped.

"Why would you even care?" I demanded.

"Because I just do." she snapped, glaring at me. I knew I should probably back off before I pissed her off even more. However, I never did what I should.

"WHY?" I asked loudly.

"Because you gave me a reason to live after losing everyone. Taking care of you is the only useful thing I have to do with my time and if it wasn't for I know no one else would care enough to make sure you were doing okay, then I would just give up on life!" she shouted. She ran up the stairs and I heard a door slam a few seconds later. I decided against following her. Even I was smart enough to know when I had crossed the line.

It was the next morning before I saw her again. She finally came out of her room to make breakfast for us but didn't say anything to me.

"Look Katniss, I'm sorry I left without telling you. Its just that after what had happened, I really didn't feel like sleeping." I said. I figured it was better to be honest with her than to make up some excuse or to not say anything at all.

"Well it wouldn't have killed you to say 'Hey Katniss, I'm gonna be gone until tomorrow evening so don't worry about me'. I mean, really, how hard is it to let someone know you're leaving?" She said. I was surprised when her tone was normal. I was glad because it meant she was no longer mad at me, which was a major improvement from the previous night.

"Well you were asleep before I even decided that I was leaving. I wasn't exactly going to wake you up to tell you I was going for a walk. That's all I meant for it to be, was just a short walk. But that turned into being gone almost a whole twenty four hours. I'm sorry I didn't say something or leave a note or anything." I said. She didn't say anything.

Once she had washed all the dishes, she got ready for the day. I was surprised when she put on a prettier shirt than normal and nicer jeans as well as her new boots. She also had a large suitcase with her.

"And why exactly did you dress up like that?" I asked.

"Because you and I are going to go visit someone. You need to get out and see someone other than the district twelve people for once." She replied. "Now go get something nice on and pack enough clothes to last for two weeks."

I did as she demanded and soon we were in a train heading to a destination still unknown to me. After a while, it became obvious where we were going. The Capitol. I groaned, knowing exactly who we were going to go visit.

"Why do we have to go visit Effie?" I asked.

"Cause I said so, that's why." Katniss snapped. I didn't say anything else, knowing that it definitely wasn't a good time to cause a fight between us.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

KATNISS'S POV

Once we got to Effie's house, she greeted us on her steps. She of course had known about my plan for us to visit her and she had even invited Peeta and Delly, who had also been on the train but in a different car. Knowing those two, they probably just hadn't wanted any company so that they had each other's full attention.

"Hello dears. It's been an awful long time!" Effie greeted us enthusiastically. I hadn't really particularly liked her over enthusiasm during the games, but it was nice to see her. She showed us all where our rooms where and allowed us to put all of our stuff away.

By the time we had went back downstairs, supper was on the table. We ate and caught up on everything. After that, the others went to her abnormally large living room and watched tv while I stayed in the kitchen to help Effie clean up.

"So I heard that you and Haymitch live together." she said.

"Before you even ask, there's absolutely nothing going on between us. He was basically starving himself to death so I started making meals for him and cleaning house and Everytime he screamed from having nightmares, I'd go over and wake him up. All of that ended in me moving in. He had pointed out that it would be a lot easier on me just to do it that way, so I have a bedroom down the hall from his." I said. She laughed.

"Delly sure made it sound like something was going on, but I wasn't sure. I mean, I'm not sure Haymitch would ever get close to anyone after what happened to his girlfriend after his hunger games. I sure haven't seen him even try to be friendly to people since then except for when he was trying to get people to sponsor you and Peeta." Effie laughed.

I told her about the second to last night that we had spent at his house before coming to visit her. I could tell she was shocked.

"Well maybe the old hermit does like you… the question is, do you like him?"

"Not that way. I enjoy actually having company now. Before I started taking care of him, I was by myself constantly. And now that he's been sober for a few weeks he's actually easier to get along with." I replied.

"I'm not sure being sober is what made him nicer. I think he honestly fancies you, and that's what finally turned him nice. How did he get that scar on his head?" Effie asked.

"Gale kind of took a knife to him right after everyone found out I was taking care of him. According to Greasy Sae, Gale thought something was going on between Haymitch and I, and he didn't like it so when he saw Haymitch he attacked him. I stitched him up, and the scar is the result." I replied.

"Well although you caused Gale to attack him, you taking care of him is one of the best things that have happened to him in a very long time. He looks a lot healthier now than he ever did."

We finished cleaning up and went into the living room with the others. Haymitch was stretched out on one of her three couches, Peeta and Delly were on one of the other couches, Effie sat on one couch, and I sat in one of her chairs.

To my surprise, they were watching a VERY scary movie. Effie said she was going to bed instead of watching it and that we could all stay up as late as we wanted to. Delly kept getting scared from the movie so she ended up going to bed shortly after. Peeta went up about half an hour after that. Then it was just Haymitch and I.

I had to admit, even I got terrified by the movie. I had no idea what the name of it was, nor did I want to know. But I wasn't going to be like the others and go to bed because of how scared I was.

"You know Sweetheart, you could always change it." Haymitch suddenly said. I realized he had seen me jump at several of the scarier scenes.

"This is fine by me." I replied.

"Sure it is. If you decide to change it or need a protector let me know." he smirked before turning around to watch the movie once more.

A couple of minutes later, I jumped and fell out of the chair, causing Haymitch to jump up and run to me.

"Are you alright Katniss?" he asked. His eyes were filled with worry.

"I'm perfectly fine. I've survived two games, so one fall isn't going to do much to me." I snapped. I immediately regretted my harsh tone when I saw his expression. He went and sat on the couch again. I waited about a minute before joining him on the couch. He seemed surprised but didn't say anything.

"So how do you like the movie so far?" I asked.

"It's alright." he replied. Just then, it caused me to jump again. Only that time, I actually landed in Haymitch's lap.

"Sorry." I mumbled, scooting off of him.

"It's fine." Haymitch laughed. Of course it would be fine with him. I remembered the scene from the other night all to clearly and blushed.

Pretty soon, he actually had his arms around me and I was burying my face in his chest for every scary part. The movie didn't last much longer, though. I was grateful for it. It meant we didn't have any reason to continue that awkward position.

"I'm going to bed." I said as soon as it was done. He turned the tv off and said he'd go to bed as well since everyone else was already in bed.

HAYMITCH'S POV

I knew I hadn't been asleep very long when a scream woke me up. I ran into the hallway to see what was wrong and was surprised to see Effie, Peeta, and Delly all coming out of their rooms as well.

"Who screamed?" I asked.

"Obviously Katniss. She must be having a nightmare from the movie." Peeta replied. She screamed again.

"Well who's going to go check on her? If we all go in there she'll freak out when she wakes up." Delly asked.

"I'll go." I replied. They all went back to bed so I went to check on Katniss.

"Katniss, wake up." I said, shaking her gently. She opened her eyes and calmed down as soon as she realized she was awake.

"Why did you wake me up?" she asked.

"You woke everyone else up screaming." I replied. She blushed. I knew she was definitely embarrassed at the thought of everyone knowing she'd had a nightmare.

"You're supposed to be the one waking people up and I'm supposed to run to check on you, not the other way around." She pouted.

"I know Sweetheart. I told you that you shouldn't have watched that movie. I told you that you could have turned it." I said gently.

"Please stay?" she asked when I turned around to leave. I shut her door before laying in bed with her. Although I knew nothing was between us and that it was most likely that there would never be anything between us, I put an arm around her and pulled her against me protectively.

She didn't protest, she just laid there. It wasn't very long before she fell asleep again and I drifted to sleep as well.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

HAYMITCH'S POV

When I woke up, Katniss was gone. I looked at the sky out the window and saw it was still dark. I knew Katniss was probably the only one awake so I laid there. I knew she'd come back sooner or later. Before long, she was back. I noticed she was still in her pajamas. She looked like she had been crying.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" I asked quietly.

"I had another nightmare earlier. That's why I got up so early." she replied. She crawled into the bed and allowed me to hold her. She fell asleep quickly and I just laid there holding her.

When I heard the others start getting up, I hoped and prayed they wouldn't walk into Katniss's room. My prayers weren't answered, because they ALL walked in. I pretended to be asleep, so they didn't say anything.

PEETA'S POV

We walked into Katniss's room to see if she was okay, and we were all surprised to find Haymitch sleeping there as well. His arms were around her tightly, as if he was protecting her from something. He pulled her even closer in his sleep.

"We should leave them alone." Effie said quietly. We all walked out and shut the door quietly behind us.

"Are they together?" Delly asked.

"Who knows. They've been living together for quiet a while, but they both deny being together and all." I replied.

"Well it isn't exactly uncommon for people to hide relationships. Katniss is making herself seem like a little floozy though. I mean, everything that happened in the games, and now living with a man old enough to be her father?" Delly said rather snobbily.

"At least I'm not a two faced bitch." I heard a voice behind us.

KATNISS'S POV

"Well it isn't exactly uncommon for people to hide relationships. Katniss is making herself seem like a little floozy though. I mean, everything that happened in the games, and now living with a man old enough to be her father?" Delly asked.

"At least I'm not a two faced bitch." I said, coming up behind them. I knew they'd had no idea that Haymitch and I were standing behind them.

"I didn't mean it, Katniss." Delly stammered. Her eyes went wide. I knew she was thinking about all the people I had killed.

"Yes you most certainly did, Delly. I'm not stupid like some people seem to think. And I certainly am not involved in any kind of relationship with Haymitch. I don't see why you can't just accept that I take care of him to keep him from starving to death." I snapped. I advanced towards her, but Haymitch grabbed my wrist.

"Katniss, calm down." he said softly when I turned to look at him. I jerked free from him and pounced on Delly.

"Katniss!" Effie shrieked. Peeta tried prying me off of Delly, but I gave him a particularly hard blow to his stomach. Suddenly I was jerked off the girl. I knew it was Haymitch that had pulled me off.

Delly stumbled to her feet and I was surprised that her nose was bleeding and her lip was busted. Haymitch kept a firm grip on me so I couldn't pull away from him and go after her again.

"Effie, thank you for inviting us to come up here, but I think it's better for Katniss if she and I just go home." Haymitch said.

"Of course, dears." Effie replied.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

KATNISS'S POV

Later that night, we arrived back at our house. We put everything away and ate quietly. I hadn't spoken since I had jumped Delly.

"Why did you go after her?" Haymitch asked.

"Because she needed to learn her place. And I wasn't exactly going to kill her." I replied. Haymitch smiled at me.

"I'm glad to see your fire coming back." he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You were starting to mellow out. And I think that proved us that you're still the girl on fire." Haymitch replied. I didn't say anything. I did the dishes and made sure the house was clean before joining him to watch tv.

HAYMITCH'S POV

I hadn't been very surprised when Katniss had jumped Delly. I had known it would happen at some point while we were up at Effie's, but I had never imagined it would be so soon after arriving there.

She didn't talk until we were eating dinner. Even then, she only talked when I talked to her first.

"Why did you go after her?" I asked.

"Because she needed to learn her place. And I wasn't exactly going to kill her." she replied.

"I'm glad to see your fire coming back." I said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You were starting to mellow out. And I think that proved us that you're still the girl on fire." I replied. She didn't say anything else. She did the dishes and did some light house cleaning before joining me to watch tv.

I had an idea and switched it to a scary movie channel. I knew that despite her going through two hunger games, she was still scared easily by movies. I hoped she didn't know what I was trying to do.

Soon she was sitting on the couch with me burying her face into my chest at every scary part in the movie. I pulled out some whisky that I had hidden behind the couch when she had went through the house and thrown out all the alcohol that I had.

"Where did you get that?" she asked when she saw what I had.

"I've had it, sweetheart. I hid it when you were throwing all my other alcohol away. This is all I have left." I replied. I took the lid off and started drinking. It burned my throat since I had gotten used to not drinking. Katniss took it from me and drank a third of it and I downed the rest when she handed it back to me. Neither of us were drunk, but we both definitely felt some effect from it.

We watched the rest of the movie and went up to bed.

About an hour after we had went to our separate bedrooms, I heard the door to my room crack open. I opened my eyes and saw Katniss standing in the doorway. I already knew why she had come. She was probably scared to sleep alone. I patted the bed next to me and she shot under the covers.

I wrapped my arms around her tightly and held her as close to me as I could. She fell asleep abnormally quickly. I sighed, thinking about how it was always like this. Me holding her and wanting us to be more than what we really were. I began to wonder if she just used me to comfort her after her nightmares, but I quickly shook the thought considering she fed me, cleaned for me, and always came if I had nightmares.

The next morning when I woke up, she was gone. I got up as well and headed down to the kitchen. She was sitting at the table looking very upset.

"What's wrong, Katniss?" I asked.

"They called from District four. Mom died last night." she replied. I hugged her and held her as she cried.

Once she was done crying, she looked extremely embarrassed for some reason. I didn't say anything. I knew she thought I would be disgusted by her moment of what she would call weakness. Personally, I knew she wasn't weak. After everything she had gone through, I was amazed she wasn't mentally unstable. She was mentally and emotionally stronger than anyone else I had ever met. Sure, she had nightmares and cried once in a while, but even normal people that had never encountered anything bad did that. At least she wasn't like I was. At least she didn't drown her sorrows away in alcohol. And at least she didn't fall for someone half her age and become dependent on them.

I was the weak one out of the two of us. Before she had come along, I had handed two kids over every year and didn't attempt to help them. I drank my sorrows away. I'd wake myself up screaming every night. And when she marched into my life, I slowly became more and more dependent on her.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

KATNISS'S POV

When I woke up, I quietly got up and ready for the day and went downstairs to make breakfast for us. The phone rang and I answered it before it could wake Haymitch, although I highly doubted it would have woken him anyways.

"Hello?" I said.

"Ms Everdeen, we regret to have to inform you that your mother has passed. We have no clue why. We found her in her bed this morning and she has obviously been dead for at least a couple of days. By the looks of it, she most likely overdosed." some unknown voice said.

"Thank you for informing me." I said before they hung up. I sat there and tried fighting my tears back. Haymitch came in.

"What's wrong, Katniss?" he asked.

"They called from District four. Mom died a couple of days ago from most likely overdose and they found her body in her bed this morning when they looked for her." I replied. I started crying and he held me until I finished. I felt so weak. I had never let anyone see me cry except for him. And of course the people watching the Hunger Games when Rue died.

"I'm here for you if you ever need someone to talk to, Katniss." Haymitch said quietly, still holding me. I smiled although I knew he wouldn't be able to see considering my face was burried in his chest.

He let go of me a couple of minutes later and I started making breakfast. Everything in the house was more silent than usual.

Once the food was ready, I put it on the table and we ate silently. I just sat there for a minute after I finished eating instead of getting up and hurrying to do the dishes like I normally did.

"Sweetheart, let me do the dishes. You go on back to bed or go lay on the couch for a while. After all, you did get up earlier than usual and with the news…" Haymitch trailed off. I looked at him for a moment before going up the stairs. I went to my room although it felt strange to be laying in a bed other than Haymitch's.

HAYMITCH'S POV

After Katniss went back to bed, I called Effie and told her. She seemed shocked and told me to tell Katniss she was very sorry, but got of the phone quicker than she normally would have. Then I realized that Peeta and Delly were most likely still there and she probably hadn't wanted to upset them by letting them know I had called. I knew she would most likely tell Peeta, but she would make sure to do so when Delly wasn't around.

I did all of the house work and did some laundry as well. Once I was done, I went to check on Katniss. She was sound asleep so I decided to go out to the Hob. I planned on picking up some lunch and something we could eat for dinner as well so that she wouldn't have to make anything that day.

I ran into Gale and Greasy Sae. Gale nodded curtly. I guess he was still mad about Katniss taking care of me.

"Don't let her know I told yall and definitely don't tell anyone else, but Katniss's mother died. I was thinking maybe one of you could drop by the house tonight? I think some company other than just me would probably do her well." I said.

"I'll come by, for Catnip. But don't expect me to be very friendly to you." Gale snapped.

"Thank you. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you." I said before going to look around.

Once I got what I had been looking for, I went back to the house. Katniss was up and sitting on the couch wrapped up in a blanket looking very depressed but she wasn't even crying.

"I got us some lunch and brought something to be saved until dinner, so that you don't need to cook and we don't have to eat anything I attempt to make." I said. She looked at me and attempted a smile, but she failed miserably and it broke my heart to see her that way.

We ate lunch and sat around watching tv. Well, Katniss was staring at the tv but I knew she was zoned out and didn't see or hear anything, she was lost in her thoughts. I was watching her.

In a way, I was thankful when Gale came over. Katniss seemed very surprised but she still didn't smile. I knew it was a mean thought, but I was glad that his appearance hadn't made her happy.

Gale stayed for a couple of hours before going away again. By the end of his visit, he had clearly gotten on Katniss's nerves. I got everything ready for supper the moment he left and we ate in silence.

"You made him come over, didn't you?" She glared at me.

"No." I replied. Technically, it wasn't a lie. I hadn't made Gale come visit her, I had just asked him. It wasn't like I had put a gun up next to his head and forced him.

That night, Katniss willingly curled up against my side. I knew it was only because she didn't want to be alone after discovering the loss of her mother although they had never been particularly close.


End file.
